Do you test your chocolate for heavy metals?Updated 3 months ago

As a small British company, we care deeply about the quality and provenance of all our ingredients – including cocoa.  But, like almost all small businesses, we do not have a technical department of our own. Thus, as well as hand choosing our ingredients for taste and quality, we are then super picky about our suppliers.  We need to be sure we can count on them to adhere to all the relevant health, safety and quality protocols required for them to make and sell their products in the UK and EU.

Our primary cocoa supplier, Luker, operates on a ‘positive release’ basis, whereby every batch they produce goes through an extensive testing regime and must be verified before it can be released.  This regime includes tests for cadmium and other heavy metals.  We are proud that Luker have always been particularly proactive in this area, to the point where they now act as advisors to the World Cocoa Foundation on best practice for heavy metals.  

This extract is taken from the knowledge base on the Luker website (current 1 January 2025):

“In addition to controlling allergens, we prioritize monitoring heavy metals like cadmium and lead in our products. These metals occur naturally in soil and plants and can become the chocolate. However, we are committed to adhering to strict specifications.

Our laboratory employs atomic absorption spectroscopy to quantify cadmium and lead. A comprehensive sampling plan is enacted, from sourcing to production, ensuring meticulous adherence to specified cadmium levels. This plan includes monitoring at other production stages, such as milling, storage tanks, product formulations, and finished products.

At the beginning of 2023, we obtained the accreditation NTC-ISO/IEC 17025:2017 for the Determination of Cadmium content and the Detection of Salmonella SPP in Cocoa and Chocolate products by ONAC (National Accreditation Organisation of Colombia), demonstrating that our products have the quality and safety expected according to the requirements of international markets.”